Cliff never had any flunkies when he was younger in the original series. Now he's like a mob boss with these bodyguards and lackeys. Even JR still never had any flunkies in this series. What's going on?

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Anne Hathaway: "You did not just ask me that!! What a forward young man you are!!! My goodness!!"

A sad opening to close off JR's history. Also, t's cool that the Dallas theme tune is normally played by a trumpet and brass. Here, with the solo trumpet, it sounds like a last post bugle call at a military funeral.

BTW it looks like, from that interview, that Deborah Shelton is coming back after all.

We might as well have the interview posted here:

Quote:

Tonight's 'Dallas' opening credits honor Larry Hagman and J.R. Ewing

Dallas‘ iconic theme song will sound a little different tonight as the TNT series says goodbye to J.R. Ewing (Larry Hagman) with a memorial and funeral. Watch the revised opening credits below, and make sure you have a tissue handy. Exec producers Cynthia Cidre and Michael R. Robin spoke to EW.com about honoring Hagman, the wonderful last image of him captured on film, and how they orchestrated J.R.’s final act.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Everyone I’ve talked to who’s seen these opening credits has teared up. Whose idea was it to change them for this episode?

CYNTHIA CIDRE: It was Mike’s idea. He heard that and was like, “No! No! No! No! That is so wrong!”

MICHAEL M. ROBIN: What happened was, we were screening [the episode], and we went through the moment in the morgue when it’s yes, he’s dead, and then on came the big happy main title for Dallas, and it was like, “Okay, that has to change. We cannot do that this time.” So we called our composer, Rob Cairns, and I said, “This needs to be a remembrance.” And he was like, “Got it.” And then two hours later, he sent us that track.

CC: It was kind of unbelievable. I remember that track was in my email, and I played it, and I said, “How does he do this in two hours?” It was so good.

MR: And then we put it under the picture with cowboys racing around, and we said, “No, this isn’t it.”

CC: [Laughs] “No, that’s not right.”

MR: So we sent it back to the editor, Leah Breuer, who cut our main title for us. She sent back a piece about a day later, and it was perfect, too. So they both just emotionally understood what needed to happen and out came that really lovely title.

What was the actual last scene that Larry Hagman shot?

MR: The last scene that Larry shot was in the [courthouse] bathroom with John Ross [Josh Henderson] in show 5, an episode that Millicent Shelton directed. It’s funny, there was a little sort of extension of the scene from what ended up in the cut, where J.R. walks over and looks in the mirror and he’s having a conversation with Bum [Kevin Page]. In one of the takes, Millicent said “Cut!” and Larry was looking in the mirror and he just said (dreamily), “Larry, I love you.” [They laugh] And the whole crew just broke up. And that was it.

CC: That was it.

MR: That was the last moment on camera that was photographed of him. And it was a really stunning thing to go back and look at that moment. He was so full of life that day and fantastic. None of us had any sense of what was going to take place, you know, five days later.

So Larry was last on set for episode 5, but J.R. wasn’t shot until the end of episode 7. How did you pull off that final phone call with John Ross?

MR: When Larry passed, we weren’t ready for that on a story-level. We had all these things set up through show 5, and show 6 was written, and show 7 was written for J.R. to be doing something else. So Cynthia said to the editors, “Okay, what scenes have been cut from something that Larry did photograph? And also, find for me all the different lines that he has said,” because we were thinking along the lines of what kind of phone calls could we create.

So we got to the phone call where he’s being shot, and she had the list of the different things Larry’s said and basically reverse-engineered the other side of the scene to be able to get J.R. to answer in the way that we needed him to. We looked at the cut, and three of the lines that we had cobbled together were from the same scene from episode 4 earlier this year. And our editor, Adam Bluming, cut those lines in against the phone call with John Ross. And then interestingly enough, there was a take [in episode 4, when J.R. hears from Frank that John Ross is in bed with Pamela], where Larry put the phone down and just looked straight ahead and had this horrified look on his face.

When Adam put those things together [with a new background behind J.R. and the sound of footsteps], all the sudden we had a scene where it looks like Larry was participating in this character’s demise. So we had that [scene] but it kinda felt like we just had a little tag on the end of the hour where J.R. just showed up, and we needed a whole story. So we tried the same thing again and created a three-beat story [for episode 7] with other footage that we had. We went back and reshot the other side of scenes, reverse engineering the dialogue that made sense plot-wise for the actors that we did have so they could move it along, and we tied it in to the dialogue that we did have of Larry.

CC: A lot of reverse-engineering there.

How did you decide J.R. would be shot again, which is obviously a nice nod to the original series and the start of a new mystery? Did you consider other scenarios?

CC: Let me walk you through two weeks of thinking in 30 seconds. How does J.R. die? Not an easy question to answer. I tend to be mathematical: So there’s an A solution and a B solution. The A solution was of natural causes that are later revealed to be unnatural, and it seemed that until it were revealed to be unnatural that the audience would be bored and it was not appropriate to the character.

So then you go to unnatural causes, which could be anything from a helicopter exploding, a plane crash, drowning, being eaten by a shark, an endless list. And then you circle around after thinking about it for a week to you can’t get away from J.R. was shot. So you do an homage to it. You do it again, and then you try to do it one better: Hopefully by the time we reveal the mystery, you’ll go, “Oh, cool.” I’m telling you, it was really complicated to get to that place and to make people not say, “How can you shoot him again?”

Was there resistance to the idea from the network?

CC: No. I assumed there would be resistance, but once it was explained, they were like, “That’s the perfect solution.”

J.R. spoke of his “masterpiece” in that last phone call with John Ross. Was that always in the works? I know he used that word earlier in the season.

CC: It was part of a story line, for sure. But then it became a bigger story line. And that was such a great word that, I think, Bruce Rasmussen wrote in episode 3 [when Bobby asked J.R. for help with taking down Harris Ryland]: “Little brother, this is gonna be my masterpiece.” I just loved that line of dialogue, so it stuck with me.

What was the original story line for J.R. this season?

CC: Actually, because we saved 80 percent of our story, I don’t want to reveal it. But I will reveal how J.R. was gonna end this season, which was kind of the reversal of what had happened last year: Whenever everybody comes into Ewing Energies, they realize that he’s taken over the company and he’s sitting at the end of the conference table. So he was gonna win that way. The “masterpiece” was a little bit of the puzzle, but now it’s a bigger part of the puzzle, and of course, he is not coming back.

Last question: J.R.’s memorial has everything: From the return of Cliff Barnes (Ken Kercheval) and others including Cally (Cathy Podewell) and Mandy Winger (Deborah Shelton), to Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings, Mark Cuban, and Jerry Jones paying their respects. What did you want to accomplish with those scenes?

CC: Mike and I have been doing this show for over two years, and I was actually involved probably a year before that. All those pieces of Dallas live in my head all day long. So, when I sit down to do something, I know the beats you gotta hit: You gotta hit the ex-wives and the girlfriend, you gotta hit the family, and you gotta hit the big names that come to the memorial who knew him as this fictional character. And what would a Dallas party or memorial be like without a fist fight?

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Anne Hathaway: "You did not just ask me that!! What a forward young man you are!!! My goodness!!"

Linda: Yes I have other things but you are special. We want to talk to you (laughs)

UD: First of we would like to say on behalf of ultimatedallas and the fans how sorry we were to hear about Larry. Like yourself he was always wonderful with the fans and so supportive of the website

Linda: He will be sorely missed and he is already. He loved the fans so much. He will be smiling because he will be remembered forever, for JR Ewing, Larry Hagman, for I Dream of Jeannie, all the way through. He will be remembered in people’s hearts forever. Yes he is missed but he will be in everybody’s hearts for a long time.

UD: How have the past few months been for you and the cast? I believe you were in the process of filming episode 5 when Larry passed and went back to work quite soon after.

Linda: He passed while we were doing episode seven so there are scenes that he won't be in. You know honestly we all expect him to walk through the door; it's the very weirdest thing. He was this bigger than life presence, he was a bigger than life personality, actor and honestly I keep expecting to read the script and I wonder “Where is the scene with JR and Sue Ellen?” “Where is that in the script?”. It takes me a moment to regroup and go "OK there won't be any of those".

So it's been a challenging time but the beauty of Larry is that he passed knowing that he was doing the work that, I think, he was born to do. I think he was born to play JR Ewing. He died doing the thing he wanted to do and that was Larry you know. What a gift to be given to play JR Ewing twenty years later and actors don't get that opportunity.
So for him to come back and make this giant impression again, a global impact with this iconic character, that was a gift and he knew it. That's why he struggled very hard to keep his health as best he could at all times.
That was the grace we were left with. We were left with this abundant amount of talent that will forever be in people’s minds.

I feel that the writers will have something that JR would have done that will reverberate throughout the rest of the shows, for as long as Dallas runs. You know it could be he started something and that turns into something else, it could be this huge snowball effect. It could go on and on but he will always be remembered so people won't forget him ever, ever.

UD: Did Larry ever talk to you about moving forward should he pass or prepare you. Did you ever have that type of conversation?

Linda: No. No he didn't because Larry was like a cat he had these nine lives, I think he had eighteen you know. He just kept going on because he survived so many things - the liver transplant, diabetes, all these kind of things and he always came out, always smiling. He was never afraid of dying and he told us that a long time ago. Patrick and I had spent, it was Thanksgiving weekend, we spent two hours, just the three of us in his hospital room giggling, laughing, reminiscing, etc. etc. We had such a great time, we just talked about good old times.

When we first walked in he said "I have two weeks to live" and I said, not uncharacteristically, "********" (laughs). I said "We have a scene on Monday what are you talking about?" and I said "You've bought this fancy new car and I want a ride in that car" and he perched up and he said "Oh I forget about that. Oh gosh of course"

So after two hours of glorious giggling, laughing and reminiscing about everything , Patrick and I walked down the hospital corridor smiling and we said "Man he's amazing, he's going to bounce back out of this crazy thing". We were on this great high [thinking] he'll rest over Thanksgiving weekend, all his grandchildren were in town for Thanksgiving, his daughter, his son, so we thought "Oh great this is fantastic". Then on Friday morning Patrick and I got the call saying get to the hospital now, well you hate to get those calls because you know that's not a good call. So we ran over there and that was the last time we saw him. So yeah, that's what happened.

UD: You have just filmed JR’s memorial episode and eulogy. Can you tell us how that went?

Linda: It was tough but I tell you I think the fans, the world, everybody needs closure. Everyone knows globally that Larry Hagman has passed, they need to see it, they need to have a grieving moment, they need to have closure with him, they need to mourn him and it was done with such style, such dignity, just like JR/Larry Hagman deserved. It was the most beautiful ceremony, it was stunning. Every single actor that came up to speak was brilliant, was amazing, it was stunning. It was divinely guided, it was beautiful.

UD: We know some of the original cast are back for the memorial including Deborah Shelton who played JR's ex-mistress Mandy Winger. Can we expect fireworks?

Linda: You can expect all you want (laughs). I just know she's back. I don't think there are fireworks. I don't know. There weren't any. I think sometimes at a memorial, this is my personal feeling, is that all of those things from the past are put in perspective, you look at somebody who could be an enemy and you go we are here to mourn somebody we all loved and let’s get on with it, let’s not wallow in it and bring up old resentments. To me it was a joy to have former actors that had played pivotal roles in the original come back. It was great fun to have Deborah Shelton there; I had not seen her in twenty years or something. It was so much fun.

UD: and Cathy Podewell (who played Cally Ewing)

Linda: Yeah Cathy and Deborah. It was so much fun. We giggled and laughed and exchanged phone numbers. I hope to see them when we get back. I did have a scene with Cathy and Deborah which was great fun.

UD: How does Sue Ellen react to JR's death?

Linda: Well they have such a history together, such a bitter sweet history that she would react in a very human way. This was her husband, the father of her child and again in those kinds of situations all the other stuff, in quotes, goes away, it dissolves and it becomes just about the relationship that you had. It was hugely impactful for Sue Ellen to feel the impact JR had on her life and the empty feeling that she has now and whatever their relationship did, good bad or indifferent to the raising of their son - all of those things come flooding in. So it wasn't one emotion, it was just this conglomeration of many emotions that just flood into Sue Ellen's psyche. Again I go back to the writers, it was stunningly well orchestrated, so well written, so well taken care of. They gave Sue Ellen such beautiful words to say and as an actor it was stunning. It was a pleasure for me to do.

UD: Are JR and Sue Ellen left in a place you feel will be satisfying for the fans?

Linda: I think so. I think you will like it (laughs). What they have done is beautiful. I have always been fascinated by the fact the writers can do such magic, that they weave this web of really beautiful words that will impact every person who sees this in such a powerful way. I was thrilled by what they wrote. And again every person that spoke had an individual gem that will remind people "oh I remember when that happened". Just stunning. That episode should be much longer than one episode, it should be an hour and a half and it should be a special. When I looked around I thought “How can they cut this?" "How can they edit this down to 41 minutes?" In my mind make it an hour and a half special (laughs) but I'm not the network.

UD: Like the extended episode when Bobby died

Linda: Yes. It's such an enormous amount of information, not just the memorial and all that but there is a huge amount of other stuff that leads up to this that I don't know how in the heck they can cut it all out because you'll miss bits and pieces. Maybe I'm going to go on a campaign and go “Come on let's go, we need more time” (laughs). It won't make any difference but it's what I feel (laughs)

UD: Obviously JR and Sue Ellen has been a huge dynamic on the show both for the characters and you personally. What would you like to see for Sue Ellen going forward?

Linda: That's a fabulous question but it isn't what I Linda Gray wants to see but it's about what the writers feel is important. I have script number ten sitting on my kitchen counter, I have not read it yet so it's not what Linda Gray would like to see happen to Sue Ellen, that's kind of a joke, it doesn’t matter. The writers have to weave every character together. How they do it? I'm in awe. That's kudos to the writers. So I'm staring at show number ten and I'm thinking what's going to happen? I have no idea but that's the fun part, that's the magic, that's the spontaneity. If we were all asked what we want that character to do it would be a train wreck, it would be a mess. So thank god we are not in charge (laughs)

UD: Do you feel Larry would be pleased with the way JR is written out? It has been revealed there is a murder mystery.

Linda: He would have loved it. He is the centre of attention. Are you kidding? (laughs) It's what he always loved - Larry being the centre of attention. He loved being surrounded by beautiful women, he loved being centre of attraction and of course Larry would have loved it. It's all about him (laughs)

UD: We have previewed the first two episodes which are brilliant. It’s great to Sue Ellen properly integrated into the story this time. What can we look forward to in season two and how does it compare to season one?

Linda: It's a great question. I really feel that season one was testing out the territory and I felt at the end of ten shows we had a better idea of who people were, where they were going, so I think it was kind of a dress rehearsal for this season. I feel this season is very solid, not that season one was not solid but I feel people have a better grasp on who their character is and what direction [they are going]. There is a wonderful sense that we're a team, we're moving this train forward at a beautiful pace. I think the writers know our pacing, everybody got it this year. So I think now we are on the train and it's now going full speed. It's up and running, we're in the groove, we're like a laser right now - that's how it feels. It feels that way on the set. I think the first season was also very beautiful but I feel this season, for me just watching it, it's more solid.

UD: And there are some new characters - Judith Light [who plays Judith Brown]

Linda: Yeah I love Judith. Judith is great I have known her forever, she is a dear friend. We don't have any scenes together, not yet; maybe in show ten, I don't know (laughs). But she is divine. Wait until you see her.

UD: And we have some old favourites returning - Audrey Landers as Afton and the fans are really excited about the return of Gary and Valene Ewing. How has it been working with them again?

Linda: Yesterday was the last day [filming] of Gary and Valene and we worked together and it was just great. It was so much fun. We met in 1978 at Southfork so Joan and I have stayed very close over the years. So it was a joy to work with her, what fun to look in her eyes and think "How many years has this been?" The same with Ted. I don't think I have had a scene with Ted before; we had a great time together. He has a lovely role so that was nice to see.

UD: JR and Larry was the cornerstone of Dallas for so many years. Is there life for Dallas after JR?

Linda: Of course. To me he is not gone; he will be totally in the show.

UD: Any final messages for the fans?

Linda: I love you all and cheer you on to watch this season with open hearts and open minds so we can cheer Larry on, wherever he may be on the planet.

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Quote:

Anne Hathaway: "You did not just ask me that!! What a forward young man you are!!! My goodness!!"

Great episode, was really surprised they brought up searching for Pamela E. makes me wonder if they got the actress to change her mind or hoping she will even though she says she has no interest in coming back.

An article TV Line posted last night included a video of Pam's last appearance with a different actress playing her because the character had gotten into an accident and had extensive plastic surgery. They could just recast. With any other show, I would roll my eyes. But this is Dallas. Bobby had a stroke and ended up in a coma, and the next day he was hopping around like he just got up from a nice nap.

Sad episode tonight. I was hoping for some flashbacks but i guess there was no time. Should've been a two part episode instead of rushing through it. In the original series probably the funeral wouldn't have been until the next episode.

What happened to Joan Van Ark? She filmed a scene for this episode didn't she? There was even an interview about it. Looks like they cut it. But why? If it was for time they still kept Callie and Mandy in. Callie looks a lot older now btw as does Mandy.

What could it be about Pam that JR was trying to find? And even if he did find her, JR is the last person who should be able to talk her into returning.

Would've been cool if Victoria Principal did agree to return. Sounds like maybe they had planned to but ultimately she refused. I wonder if Pam has anything to do with JR's death.

So John Ross seems to have slept with all the young ladies in the cast now.

Why wouldn't Bobby want Christopher and John Ross to know what was in that letter and that JR was murdered?

I thought it was a good episode that was a fitting tribute of sorts with the great speeches at JR's funeral, Sue Ellen hitting the sauce to read JR's letter and his son getting into a punch up and banging a hot blond at his memorial, he'd have loved it!

The thing it did so well IMO was that it did all of the stuff to recognize a legends passing but didn't fail to lay down tracks for the plot going forward, his box containing something for Bobby, John Ross and Christopher set 3 mysteries up, which is classic JR! The biggest question of course is what is in the note Bobby got.

The trailer for the coming eps is awesome, Ewing's unite, John Ross getting double dips with Emma and Rebecca and an unholy alliance formed as JR predicted.

Great episode, was really surprised they brought up searching for Pamela E. makes me wonder if they got the actress to change her mind or hoping she will even though she says she has no interest in coming back.

They need to throw more money her way. It's a shame she has to be like that though. Maybe they can get Priscilla Presley back. They STILL haven't ever explained what happened to her, with all the appearances that Ray has had. She could've shown up to the funeral.

I strongly suspect that she and Ray are no longer together.

Also, what I want to know is, if Callie and Mandy managed to show up to the funeral, what about JR's son, James Beaumont, from another woman? He played in the last couple of seasons of the original show at the same time as Callie. Surely he would come to the memorial service if not the funeral. And why wasn't Callie herself at the funeral since she was married to JR? She can show up at the memorial but not the funeral?

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Quote:

Anne Hathaway: "You did not just ask me that!! What a forward young man you are!!! My goodness!!"

Emma has been constantly popping clonazepam in her spare time. What she doesn't realise is that these pills do exactly what they say on the label. They will clone-a-ze-pam and she will turn into a carbon copy of Bobby Ewing's ex wife.

That's what this Victoria Principal stand-in for Pam should've been told all those years ago when she was dying and her face had been altered. The doctor should've said "No no, Mrs Ewing, ze plastic surgery is not ze best way. What you need is to clone a ze pam."

John Ross better be careful not to share Emma's prescription.

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Quote:

Anne Hathaway: "You did not just ask me that!! What a forward young man you are!!! My goodness!!"

I don't know if Cliff would've gone that far in his younger years. He seemed to have more of a sense of decency back then. He's more of a bitter old man now. I can imagine if he were younger, he might've offered his condolences to Miss Ellie even though he knew that he didn't get on with her son. Certainly if he did, Pam would've put him in his place, just like Pamela Rebecca did now.

BTW anyone think Elena's speech at the memorial was a little meaningless, seeing as she wasn't actually there in the original series but just invented for this one. I think she could've just sat silently and didn't have to speak. It seemed a little out of place. Callie should've been there to give a speech, and I don't see why Mandy Winger couldn't have been there either.

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Quote:

Anne Hathaway: "You did not just ask me that!! What a forward young man you are!!! My goodness!!"